Hand moistener



June 10, 1941. c wElCKER 2,245,513

HAND MOIS TENER Filed Feb. 10. 1939 III HIIIIIIIIIIIJIIN UHF.

' 2a 26 v FIGIJ WT W .22 CARL H. WE/CKER I lNVENTOI? I I f II PER ATTORNEY Patented June 10, 1941 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 7 HAND MOISTENER 7 Carl H. Wclcker,'Toronto, Ontario, Canada Application February 10, 1939,"-seria1 No. 255,703

3 Claims.

This invention relates to a new and improved device for hand moisteners for bowling alleys and the like and has for one of its principal objects the provision of means for regulating the amount of liquid applied to the hand.

Another important object of this invention is the provision of means for applying this hand moistener to bowling alley newel posts.

Another and further object of this device is to provide a hand moistener which may be conveniently applied to bowling alley newel posts whether or not they are already installed.

A still further object of this device is to provide a simple yet economical hand moistener to be used in connection with the game of bowling and which will automatically regulate the amount of water or moisture supplied.

Other and further important objects of the invention will be apparent from the disclosures in the accompanying drawing and following specification.

The invention, in a preferred form, is illustrated in the drawings and hereinafter more fully described.

In the drawing- Figure 1 shows a bowling alley newel post with the device of this invention positioned thereon;

Figure 2 is a top plan view of the apparatus of this invention;

Figure 3 is a sectional view taken on the line 3-3 of Figure 2;

Figure 4 is a sectional view of the device taken on the line 4-4 of Figure 2; and

Figure 5 is a perspective of the corrugated cylinder used in the hand moistener of this invention.

As shown in the drawing- The reference numeral l0 indicates generally a bowling alley newel post, to which is attached the usual towel l 2, and shows the hand moistener casing positioned at the top of the newel post at M.

As best shown in Figure 2, the hand moistener is composed of the relatively fiat circular casing l4, having a circular groove I6 in its face, and a corrugated rotatable cylinder l8. Holes 20 are provided in the groove l6 for returning excess or overflow water to the basin or receptacle 26. The corrugated cylinder I8 is provided with a central shaft 22, around which it rotates. The ends of the shaft 22 are mounted in holes formed in a part of the casin l4 bent downwardly at right angles, as shown at 24.

The water container 26 is positioned beneath the corrugated roller [8 and in a corresponding recess in the top of the newel post and is filled with water 28 to such'a height so that the lower portion at least of the corrugated roller, l8 will always dip thereinto.

' As best shown in Figure 5, the cylinder 18 is equipped with corrugations 30 around the entire circumference which are so spaced and designed that the hand moistener of this invention provides just the required amount of moisture to the hand of a bowler. A completely flat cylinder in this hand moistener would tend to wet the hands of the bowlers too much. By providing this cylinder l8 with corrugations, as shown, around its circumference and extending across the width of the roller, a lessened and more nearly correct amount of liquid will be supplied to the hand of the user when passed thereacross.

This hand moistener can also readily be applied to newel posts which 'are already installed in bowling alleys. Besides being an excellent hand moistener the device of this invention makes an excellent, ornamental cap for newel posts and generally adds to the attractiveness of old newel posts.

Hand moisteners are used especially in connection with duck pin bowling, in which a smalldiameter ball having no holes therein is used. In order that a small ball may be thrown or allowed to properly slip out of the hand it is essential to provide the hand with some slight amount of moistening, and the corrugated hand moistener of this invention supplies this demand in an efiicient and satisfactory manner. In practice it has been found that a plain faced roller supplied an excess amount of moisture to the hands of players and this necessitated a too frequent replacement of the towels l2. The corrugated roller shown in Figure 5 overcomes this difli-eulty by supplying a regulated amount of moisture and for all practical purposes it has been found that substantially eighteen corrugations around the circumference of the roller will operate to supply substantially the amount of moisture required on his hands by the average bowler.

The apparatus can be positioned in or on the top of any newel post, or in some other position, with a relatively small change in the construction of the post, and furthermore can be as readily removed for cleaning or water replenishing pur poses. The relatively small amount of parts used in its construction provides an economical yet still useful apparatus which furthermore is much more sanitary than the devices which have heretofore been employed in this connection.

to fit over the top of said receptacle and the newel post, 'an elongated opening formed centrally of said cover plate, a cylinder rotatably jouralled in said cover plate and supported in theopening therein to project into said water receptacle to be moistened by the water therein and above said cover plate for transferring moisture to the hand of a bowler passed over said cylindensaidcylin'der having a plurality of circumferential corrugations, and a circular groove on the cover plate circumscribing said cylinder to collect excess moisture and having an aperture therein for returning to the receptacle the excess moisture collected.

2. A moistener comprising, in combination, a receptacle for holding water, a cover for said receptacle, a rectangular opening centrally of the cover, a cylinder rotatably mounted in the opening in said cover disposed to project downwardly into the receptacle to be moistened and to project upwardly above the cover for contact with an object to be moistened, said cylinder having a plurality of circumferential corrugations, and a groove in said cover circumscribing the opening therein and having an aperture for returning to the receptacle the excess moisture collected by said groove.

3. A moistener comprising, in combination, a

receptable for holding. water, a cover for said receptacle, a rectangular opening centrally of the cover,- a cylinder rotatab-ly mounted in the opening in said cover disposed to project downwardly into the receptacle to be moistened and to project upwardly above the cover for contact with an object to be moistened, and a groove in said cover circumscribing the opening therein and having an aperture for returning to the receptacle the excess moisture collected by said groove.

CARL H. WEICIQ'JR. 

